The Empire

10–13 minutes

Lying in the heart of the Old World, the Empire of Man is the last defense of humanity
against the many threats posed by the forces of Destruction: Orcs and Goblin tribes
frequently descend from the World’s Edge Mountains in the east to raid its borders, the
Vampire Counts of Sylvania raise undead armies with necromantic magic, while the far in the
north, the barbaric followers of the Chaos Gods prepare to wage war on all civilized nations.

Even within its borders lies danger, however: the vast majority of the Empire is covered by
dark, wild forests, where bandits, Goblins, Beastmen and other monstrous beasts hide. It’s
only thanks to the strength and determination of its citizens that, despite a long history of war
and conflicts, the Empire still stands after more than 2500 years of its foundation.

The Empire is not a single, centralized, nation, but a federation of feudal states that share a
common culture, language and religion. Each of these states, or Imperial Provinces, is ruled
by a noble class, whose highest rank is that of Elector Count. This title is hereditary,
traditionally passed along the male line of the family, as the first Elector Counts were the
descendants of the chieftains of the twelve tribes who were first unified by Sigmar
Hedlenhammer, the legendary founder of the Empire, and fought under his banner to free
the lands of mankind from the Greenskins and the foul creatures of Chaos that infested
them.

When Sigmar vanished into the east, 50 years after the foundations of the Empire, leaving
ho heir, the chieftains of the tribes that pledged loyalty to him elected a successor to the
Imperial throne among them, thus establishing the system that lives to this day: at the death
of an Emperor, a new one is chosen between the Elector Counts, by a council that includes
the Counts themselves, the high representatives of the churches of Sigmar and Ulric, and an
emissary of the Halflings of the Moot. Thus the Emperor, though formally the sovereign of all
the Empire, is considered more like “first among equals” by the other Elector Counts, who
benefit from a high degree of power independence in their own territory.

The current Emperor is Karl Franz I, Elector Count of Reikland

and Prince of Altdorf. A military genious and brilliant statesman, he fought in countless
battles, leading the armies of the Empire to many victories against the Orcs and the
marauding forces of Chaos. Preferring to stand beside his soldiers than leading from the
back lines, Karl Franz is often seen at the head of his army, wielding Ghal Maraz, the
legendary hammer that belonged to Sigmar himself, and riding his faithful griffon Deathclaw.

The strongest unifying factor in the society of the Empire is

religion: though most people still pray to the same gods of nature, justice and valor that were
worshipped by mankind centuries ago, like Ulric, Myrmidia, Taal and Morr, the Empire is
renowned as the land of Sigmar, who is considered as the patron god of the Empire. The
tenets of Sigmar’s faith demand his followers to preserve the Empire he created and protect
it from all enemies, inside and outside. That’s why, when the armies of the Emprie march to
war, they are often accompanied by the zealous Warrior Priests of Sigmar. Strong both in
body and will, they prove their devotion to the Emperor-God through valorous deeds, often
inspiring their comrades with their unbreakable faith.

One of the most prominent and feared exponents of the Sigmarite Cult
is Luthor Huss, the Prophet of Sigmar. His burning hatred for the followers of Chaos led him
across all the Empire in a holy quest to expunge all corruption from its land, his fiery words
and unyielding devotion inciting the faithful to fulfil the will of Sigmar. He is a stern and
uncompromising man, who has made many enemies within the hierarchy of the Sigmarite
Church as he repeatedly accused the higher ranks of the clergy of being more interested in
gaining riches and political power than in fighting the enemies of the Empire.

Though the high priests of Sigmar tried repeatedly to excommunicate

Luthor Huss from the cult, their attempts have always been thwarted, as his zealous ways
bear the respect of the head of the Church of Sigmar itself, the Great Theogonist Volkmar
the Grim. A charismatic leader and a brave warrior, Volkmar is often seen in the heart of an
Empire army inspiring his soldiers with fiery words of devotion. A wise and cunning man,
Volkmar is aware that the menace of Chaos cannot be stopped by strength of arms alone.
That’s why he often spends time alone in old libraries, searching through tomes of ancient
(and often forbidden) knowledge for anything that can help mankind in his endless struggle.

The heart of an Empire army is its well-trained infantry. Each province

of the Empire has to maintain and equips at its expenses a number of professional soldiers,
collectively known as state troops, each wearing the distinctive colors of their province.
Soldiers from Reikland, for example, will be dressed in white, while those from Talabecland
will sport red-and-yellow uniforms.

Units are armed with a variety of weapons, from halberds to

handguns, and often train together as a single battlefield entity, providing protection to each
other and combining their strengths for maximum effectiveness. Though neither strong and
brutal as the Orcs, nor skilled as the Elves, the soldiers of the Empire make up for their
weaknesses with discipline and courage.

Units of Spearmen and Halberdiers are often deployed to deal with

enemy heavy infantry or cavalry, their sides protected by regiments of highly skilled
Swordsmen, while Crossbowmen, Archers and Handgunners have the task of softening
the enemy ranks before they get too close.
 As a large area of the Empire is covered by woods and forests,
hunting is a common activity for his countrymen. In times of war these skilled trackers band
together forming units of Huntsmen, exploiting their knowledge of the land to scout ahead of
the army or to launch surprise attacks to unprotected spots of the enemy formations and
then retreat to the safety of woods or other harsh terrain that most rank-and-file troops would
find harder to cross.

The bravest and most skilled soldiers from the state troops can aspire
to be chosen by their Elector Counts to become part of his personal retinue of Greatswords.
Named after the large two-handed swords they carry in battle, these exceptional warriors
wear suits of the finest plate armor the Imperial smiths can forge, and are often found in the
hardest fights of a battle, never yielding an inch to an enemy.

The sons of the Empire nobility do not mix themselves with the
low-born infantry of the State Troops, but often join one of the Knightly Orders. Riding into
battle on heavily barded warhorses and equipped with the best armor and weapons, units of
knights are used as shock troops, striking at the heart of the enemy formations with
devastating charges. One of the most famous of these orders, the Knights Panther date
their origin back to the crusades against Araby, where they started wearing the pelt of exotic
animals as trophies of their victories.
 Those nobles too young or inexperienced to join a Knightly Order
often join the ranks of the Pistoliers in an attempt to show their worth in battle through brave
and foolish deeds. Riding the fastest horses, these hot-tempered warriors often perform
scout duties and make hit-and-run attacks at the sides of enemy armies.

The unpredictable powers of the Winds of Magic have always been feared and reviled by the
men of the Empire. Until recent times, practitioners of magic have been forced to hide, as
diffused mistrust amongst the population made them appear as witches, sorcerers and
chaos followers. It was only after the Great War Against Chaos, when the High Elves used
their knowledge of magic to protect the Empire, that the general view of wizards among men
has changed. It was the High Mage Teclis who taught men to harness the Winds of Magic
and, at the request of Emperor Magnus the Pious, founded the Colleges of Magic in the city
of Altdorf.

As human wizards cannot perceive the whole spectrum of the Winds

of Magic as the Elves do, each of the eight Colleges specializes in the teaching of one of the
magical Lores, and their Battle Wizards are a powerful addition to an Empire army. In
particular, Wizards coming from the Bright College are a common sight on the battlefield,
as they master the destructive forces of Aqshy, the Lore of Fire, through which they hurl
deadly blasts of flame at their enemies. Their power comes with a price, though, as fire
consumes indiscriminately, and often Bright Magic is as dangerous to its users as it is to its
targets.
 Since the times of Sigmar, the Empire has been in good
relationships with the Dwarfs of the World’s Edge Mountains. It was them who taught
mankind the secrets of black powder, but human ingenuity had a great part in the creation of
some of the deadliest war machines of the Old World. The city of Nuln, in the south-west of
the Empire, is the home of the Imperial Gunnery School, where most of the artillery pieces of
the Imperial Arsenal are built. One of the most innovative designs, the Hellblaster Volley
Gun, consists of a set of nine firing barrels mounted on a rotating hub. Three barrels can fire
simultaneously, while the gunners can reload the others, thus allowing for a continuous
volley fire that can devastate entire units in a matter of moments. Unfortunately, the complex
mechanism is prone to frequent jams and malfunctions, more often than not claiming the life
of its crew.

Another engineering marvel, the Steam Tank is the

product of genius Tilean inventor Leonardo of Miragliano. It is a metal behemoth, protected
by a thick steel armor and propelled by a powerful steam engine. Very few people have the
necessary skills to command a Steam Tank, as the pressurized steam from its boiler is used
both to power the pistons that move the wheels, and the tank’s cannon, but no system to
monitor how much pressure is actually present, so the Engineer commanding the tank must
rely on his instincts, gauging the actual pressure generating from the boiler from the noises,
the occasional hisses from pipes, and the clouds of smoke forming around the tank.
Needless to say, this very inaccurate science often leads to catastrophic explosions, when
the engine is subject to a much higher pressure than it can handle.